Forever
by mugiwara-no-lucy
Summary: The War of the Best has finally reached its climax: Luffy has finally managed to save his brother Ace from the clutches of death! However it's not a complete happy reunion as the cold-hearted admiral, Akainu, is gunning for the two brothers and vows to never let the two escape alive. Will the two fall by his hands or will they be saved by an unexpected new ally?


Hi, everyone! Given how I'm a huge One Piece fan and ASL is my drug here's my first ever One Piece story for the OP fandom! Let's see how it goes! ^_^ But before we start I should point out I don't own One Piece as this lovely gem belongs to Eiichiro Oda and if I did you'd be watching this on Crunchyroll, Kissanime or various other anime websites! XP

* * *

The burning sensation from a tunnel of flames illuminated the senses of Luffy as he tried to regain his vision. He was in a slight state of disarray as he recounted the most recent events that happened to him. He entered the War of the Best at Marineford in an attempt to save his brother Portgas D. Ace from execution and after a long, gruesome battle he finally managed to reach his brother on the execution scaffold. It seemed like everything would finally be okay and finally work out in Luffy's favor.

However, Sengoku the Buddha had other plans as he planned on eliminating both brothers right there as a consequence of their pirate status in addition to their dangerous bloodlines on being the sons of the Revolutionary Dragon and the Pirate King Gold Roger respectively. Thanks to unexpected assistance from Mr. 3, Luffy was able to get the key to Ace's handcuffs and nearly opened Ace's sea stone handcuffs before the trio were overwhelmed by a barrage of cannon balls from the fleet of marines down below who were watching.

It seemed as if it was truly the end for our favorite Straw Hat pirate…..

Luffy then opened his eyes to see a familiar figure standing in front of him surrounded by flames.

"Ever since you were little you never listened to a single word I said….Have you!?" Ace asked his younger brother in a playfully angered voice as he turned his head around to give his younger brother a smirk. Not a smirk of mocking but one of love.

Luffy could barely make any words as his eyes widened in joy while his lips tugged upwards.

"And then you run off and do something crazy like old times, huh Luffy?" Ace finished his teasing as he grabbed the top of Luffy's vest while tears built up in Luffy's eyes as he realized he finally did it. He finally rescued his older brother.

Various people from down below such as Coby, Helmeppo, Jinbei, Ivankov, Boa Hancock, Buggy the Clown and even "The World's Strongest Man" Whitebeard watched in pure amazement as the path of fire opened up revealing a very alive Portgas D. Ace carrying his younger brother who was carrying a very confused Mr. 3.

However, Luffy was beyond paying attention to any of them as Luffy's mind processed what was happening all at once and how he finally accomplished the goal he set in mind for himself a week ago.

From entering "Hell" itself followed by losing ten years of his lifespan to entering a war where he was clearly outmatched, it had all been worth it in the end….his brother had been saved by the cold hands of death.

"Let's go!" Luffy exclaimed happily as tears ran down his eyes as the two escaped from Ace's mazes of flames.

After giving Mr.3 a warm welcome to the ground below, the two were bombarded by dozens of Marines intent on apprehending the pirate duo. However, they were mere child's play for the two, especially Luffy who got a huge boost just by his beloved brother being by his side. For the first time in a while since he was separated from his crew, Luffy was actually enjoying himself. Beating on these marines reminded him of the old days of training and fighting with Ace and even his other brother…Sabo.

As the pair finished off the last of the marines, they made their way towards the end of the island. While they did so, Ace turned his head to get a good look at his brother as memories of their entire time together ran through his mind before a smile adorned his features.

"I gotta admit you've gotten pretty tough, Luffy." Ace complimented his older brother with a look of pure pride on his face. Luffy wasn't the same needy kid from ten years ago who needed to be saved at every inch of the day but was now a self-reliant young man who could look after himself.

Luffy was silent as he remembered how weak he used to be in comparison to Ace before he returned his smile.

"One of these days I'll be stronger than you!" Luffy vowed. His older brother was as big of an inspiration to him as Shanks was. He'd definitely get stronger than both of them and become the Pirate King one day.

A literal ice block by the name of Aokiji threatened to block their path but Ace was able to overwhelm him and push his way through. It seemed as if victory had finally been achieved for Luffy and Ace.

At a certain cost…..

Whitebeard was able to get the attention of everyone present, including the marines, showing how much of an influence the veteran pirate actually had in the grand scheme of the world.

"Listen up Whitebeard Pirates and listen well! These are my final orders as your captain so you better follow them!" Whitebeard announced as Ace literally fired at one marine soldier before turning around to his surrogate father with eyes wide of horror.

"Let's go!" Ace literally pleaded with Whitebeard. There was no way all of this drama would conclude with Ace's life being spared while Whitebeard died. It couldn't just end that way.

"Even family must part ways now and then. You must survive and return to the new world! Continue your legacy without me!" Whitebeard ordered his men as they all looked at him with eyes full of sadness and horror, even Luffy.

Although nobody wanted to abandon the noble pirate, they all could see how he was literally at his limit. Heck he was in no better shape than Luffy was and the _only_ reason why the latter is even able to move around is thanks to the two doses of Adrenaline he took.

While most of his men protested his decision Whitebeard remained unwavering in his decision.

"Make no mistake, I'm a relic of a bygone era. Long have I sailed but no ship can carry me into the new age! Now go and forge your own paths!" Whitebeard commanded as he used his quake abilities in order to summon a huge earthquake, thus shattering the marine's base.

"Old guy, no!" Luffy yelled in horror as he came to respect Whitebeard. After all, he was a person who Ace respected and if Ace respected him then he was definitely a very righteous man. Not to mention he was pretty freaking cool and one hell of a guy.

"What're you!?" Ace screamed as tears built up in his eyes. Not after everything they went through together would he ever dream of abandoning his captain. He was his father dammit!

The proud pirate looked upon his sons with a proud smile as he realized he accomplished his true dream in the end….to have a family to call his own.

Whitebeard then shafted these thoughts out of his head as he turned towards the three admirals as well as Sengoku with an almost devilish smirk on his face.

"Let's finally put an end to this you navy bastards!" Whitebeard announced before he fell to the ground on one knee as the full effect of the injuries he sustained during the battle were starting to weigh down on him.

As most of his men tried running to his aid Whitebeard easily rebuffed all of them.

"You mean to disobey your captain's orders!? I told you fools to get away!" Whitebeard yelled at his fleet before he was attacked with cannon balls and other sorts of weapons from the marines as he fought against them.

Ace meanwhile looked down to the ground, unmoving with his eyes shadowed as he had no intentions of just throwing away Whitebeard. He would either leave together or die together with him.

"Hey Ace!" Luffy nearly pleaded with his brother as although he didn't want to leave Whitebeard behind either he understood how it was important to obey a captain's orders even if you didn't want to….

…He wondered if he would have to give his crew a decision like this one day….

"Hurry Straw Boy, it's time to make an exit on the double!" The voice of Ivankov yelled, bringing Luffy out of his current trail of thoughts.

"Ace let's go. The old guy made up his mind!" Luffy pleaded with his brother before Ace looked up with a sigh finally speaking for the first time in a while.

"….I know….this is it…." Ace muttered before shooting a stream of fire at marines who were about to attempt to slash Whitebeard.

Whitebeard immediately recognized the flames as he turned around to see Ace kneeling before him, a sign of respect for the man he admired so much.

It was pure silence between the two as it seemed the flames around them turned as blue as the calmness within Whitebeard's soul.

"The time for words has passed my son….But tell me….one last thing…." Whitebeard softly said as Ace raised his head to look at the man he respected the most in the world.

"…Are you happy to have this old fool as your father?" Whitebeard inquired as Ace grit his teeth before bowing his head to the ground below as tears freely fell from his eyes.

"Of course dad!" Ace sobbed as Whitebeard smiled and laughed.

"Well honor your dad's last wish and live! Enjoy life to the fullest with no regrets!" Whitebeard ordered his son who wiped his tears before giving his father a grateful smile.

"I will….Thank you for everything! Goodbye…." Ace said as he nearly wept at the end again before pulling himself together and leaving the flames, content he got closure with his father as Whitebeard looked to the sky with the smile.

"Damn kid….Just like his father…" Whitebeard thought as he looked to the sky as he thought of his old friend Roger…

With everything said and done, Ace got up and joined his brother before the two made their escape from the island.

Luffy was curious as to what was said between Ace and Whitebeard but chose not to ask as he felt it wasn't in his place to ask.

"Keep it up! We're almost there!" One pirate yelled to everyone.

"Ace! Luffy! Stay in front!" Jimbei told the two brothers as he appeared behind the two.

"Jinbei!" Both brothers yelled.

"They're specifically targeting you two! We cannot let the old man waste his life! He will not fall in vain!" Jimbei instructed the two as he nearly got choked up in the end of his sentence.

As the D Brothers neared the escape ship, one person in particular glared at the backs of the two as he vowed to never let them escape, save for a body bag.

"Do they really think they stand a chance of escaping? How naïve." Sakazuki, known by his alias of Akainu, sneered as he stepped forward.

"Admiral Sakazuki?" A marine asked in slight fear at the sight of the tall admiral.

"Move aside, I'll handle this." Akainu ordered the smaller man before transforming one hand into magma as he used it to take out several pirates.

Ace grit his teeth as he reluctantly ran at the cost of several of his friends' lives while Luffy took a quick glance behind him to see what happened.

"Never mind that. Just don't stop running until you see the ship." Jimbei reminded the two, albeit with a hint of regret in his voice.

As Akainu got close to the two brothers, his stance was strangely relaxed.

"As soon as they rescued Fire Fist Ace, they fled. What a cowardly crew just like their washed up captain!" Akainu mocked before continuing his banter while taking off his hat and running a hand through his hair, "That old man, huh? Some captain he is. It's not your fault. That's just Whitebeard, a washed up failure."

Akainu smirked as he noticed several pirates stop, one of them being Ace.

"Ace!" Luffy exclaimed as he hoped that Ace's hotheadedness from his youth wouldn't come back, not now.

"A failure?" Ace asked as he took several deep breaths. Though he sounded calm if one were to look at his eyes they could see they burned with the rage of a thousand suns.

Ace then turned around with his fists blazing as he gave the admiral a death glare. He was far beyond listening to the warnings of his crewmates to just ignore him. Ace would be damned if he let some marine bastard mock the man he loved so dearly.

"Take it back or else!" Ace growled. If this asshole dared mock the man who saved his life, he would show him hell.

Despite his crewmates' protests, Ace was beyond caring what they had to say.

"No one gets away with mocking pops!" Ace growled as he glared straight in the eyes of Akainu who smirked at Ace's reaction. He was playing right into his trap like the fool he thought he was.

"Stop!" Luffy practically begged his brother. Luffy knew how his brother got when he got mad and he knew one hundred percent that Ace didn't stand a chance against Akainu. Not at his current level of power.

"Take it back? It's not an insult but the truth. Let me tell you a story. Your father conquered the grand line something no other pirate accomplished. After that he opened the door to the great pirate era by sacrificing his own life. I hate to say it being a navy admiral but he was King of the Pirates, no question. Keeping all that in mind, Whitebeard has failed." Akainu smirked as literal flames burst around Ace. The nerve of this bastard. He was hurting Ace on two levels by not only degrading Whitebeard, the man Ace loves but uplifted Roger, the man who Ace _loathes._

"His lack of ambition meant that he'd never be king of anything but you simple minded cronies. Once he brainwashed enough of you into doing his dirty work, he got lazy. Every now and again you'll find someone who paints him as a peacekeeper. Start trouble here and Whitebeard will come running they say. Heh, empty boasts to keep idiots like you fearful. You call him hero when he's nothing but a coward! When Gold Roger was around, Whitebeard also had second feeling yet even after Roger's death he couldn't become king. So there it is, the life of your father's whipping boy, the great failure Whitebeard. Soon enough he'll be dead and no one will remember him. I can't help but feel sorry for the man and all you punks call him your pops. What? Did you make this fake family to humor him or are you just as deluded?" Akainu continued to egg on Ace's hatred as the Flame-Flame fruit user slowly made his way towards the soldier as he was barely controlling the flames containing his rage.

"Shut it…." Ace growled as Akainu continued his boasting.

"He sailed the seas for years yet he couldn't amount to anything. Amassed an army of losers and in the end was even stabbed by one of his own sons who put more stock in my word than his own. And still, he'll die to protect that man. Have you ever heard of a more pathetic life?" Akainu finished his antagonizing of Whitebeard as Ace's already short patience had reached its limit.

"That's enough!" Ace growled.

"You're wrong! There's nothing fake about the family he gave us but I wouldn't expect a heartless bastard like you to appreciate that." Ace spat as he stopped his walking towards Akainu to shoot his gaze at the older man.

"Like I said he convinced you punks that you meant something to the world. But your kind doesn't deserve a home. You deserve the gallows." Akainu glared as he readied his arm full of magma.

"Can it!" Ace retorted as he had enough of this asshole and his shit-talking.

"You know it's true! You'll all die as failures and Whitebeard's nothing but a lonely old fool!" Akainu sneered at Ace as the flames around Ace's body erupted around him.

"Whitebeard is the greatest pirate who's ever lived, you hear me!? You don't know anything about the man who saved my life!" Ace yelled as his flames covered him entirely.

"This is his era! Don't you forget it!" Ace roared as his fire fist collided with Akainu's magma.

Ace growled as he attempted to overpower Akainu's magma but to no avail.

"Your 'pops' will end up the same as you, boy! Dead and by my head!" Akainu finished harshly as his magma completely overwhelmed Ace, sending him flying into the ground with his left arm burnt.

Everyone around was left stunned at the difference in their strengths.

"Thanks to your Logia type fruit, you're not used to being hurt and it's made you cocky. You may be made of fire but my magma burns even hotter than that! Just like Whitebeard, second rate to the bitter end!" Akainu sneered at the flame-flame user as Luffy's eyes widened in horror.

Was he going to kill his brother right there when he's done? Not on his watch! Not after everything he went through to save his brother!

Luffy started running to his older brother's side.

"Luffy! What're you doing!?" Jinbei yelled in concern of his friend.

Luffy however paid Jinbei no mind as he ran to his older brother's side.

"Ace!" Luffy yelled as he knelt right by Ace's side.

"Luffy!? Run away!" Ace yelled.

Before Luffy could say anything or argue, the heat of the magma from Akainu's arm cut him off.

"Gold Roger the King of the Pirates and Dragon the Revolutionary. To think that the two of you were adopted brothers…all these years….What a victory it'd be to end both bloodlines! Everyone else can escape as the two of you are the only targets I'm after! Say goodbye…." Akainu glared as he raised his arms of magma up.

Ace grit his teeth in frustration as he tried to steel himself to move while Luffy was trying to find a way to escape but the exhaustion and injuries he sustained from Impel Down all the way to the war in Marineford was starting to take its toll on the Straw Hat captain. It looked like before they could even stand up, they'd be met with death at the hands of Akainu.

Akainu said nothing else as he raised both of his magma fists up, intent on melting the two brothers. The two brothers could only hope for a miracle of some kind.

As if the heavens above heard their prayers, before Akainu could make contact, a hand grabbed the backs of the two brothers and threw them both away to safety.

"Not today!" The mysterious savior of Luffy and Ace yelled.

"Ace….you okay?" Luffy asked his brother.

"Y-yeah…." Ace replied as the two got a look at their savior. Or rather the back of him as only his back was visible to them. He wore a black hat, had short blonde hair and wore a long black coat.

"Is it just me or does that guy seem kinda…familiar?" A curious Luffy pondered as Ace couldn't help but agree with the Straw Hat.

"Yeah…he kind of does…." Ace agreed.

However the two were snapped from their train of thought as the man ran forward encouraging the two to follow him.

"What're you waiting for!? Follow me!" The strange man ordered as the two didn't need any more convincing. Something told the pair of brothers that they could trust this guy.

The other pirates and marines in the area looked in utter shock at the arrival of the new visitor along with his allies.

"No way. What the hell are they doing here!?" One Marco asked, mouth agape as a feisty woman sporting a red cap with a pair of goggled grinned at him.

"We're here to save your lives of course!" The woman known as Koala grinned at the phoenix before her expression turned serious.

"Now come on! Your captain didn't risk his life to have you die by some melty head!" Koala said before everyone followed suit.

As the D. Brothers ran, Akainu growled in anger.

"Didn't I make myself clear!? I said I wouldn't let those two leave this island alive!" Akainu glared at the new visitor as he fully intended on giving chase to the three.

As Akainu attempted to follow with a magma punch, his fist was blocked by a certain yellow fish man.

"Sorry but I'm gonna have to stop you!" The fish man glared as Jimbei walked beside him with a grin.

"Heh, great to see you again….Hack!" Jimbei grinned as Hack returned the grin.

"I can say the same for you! Now…let's get rid of this fool!" Hack said.

"Right!" Jinbei replied before he used some of his fish man karate to knock the arrogant magma user back.

"Damn you…" Akainu growled.

The two then left as every other pirate continued to flee, many of their respective ships while Ace and Luffy decided to board with on their ship with their mysterious savior.

* * *

As their ship left the island Ace heard the proud laughter of his father.

"Father….goodbye….and thank you….for everything…." Ace sniffled as tears fell from his eyes before Luffy put a hand on his older brother's shoulder as he gave him a comforting smile.

"Thanks Luffy…." Ace softly smiled as Luffy gave his trademark goofy grin.

"I'm glad to see the two of you again…You two have really grown up…Fire Fist Ace….Straw Hat Luffy…" The same voice who saved the two brothers announced as he walked from the shadows of the room they were in to where he could see the two of them.

The two d carriers looked to see a young man around Ace's age walk up towards the two of them before he was in close proximity of the two. He has short blonde hair with a noticeable scar across his left eye and he wore a long black jacket with a buckle on the left sleeve, with a blue shirt and vest, a frilled cravat, and a simple belt holding a pair of loosen light-blue pants with black boots along with a pair of brown gloves and a black top hat with blue goggles over the band of his hat.

The two were silent as they slowly began to put two and two together….

"And I made it just in time!" The man grinned as Ace and Luffy's eyes both went wide in shock.

"….N-no way….It can't be!" Ace stammered.

"B-but you're dead….Aren't you!? Y-you….died….ten years ago?" Luffy whispered in a barely audible voice.

"R-right!?" Luffy yelled in a broken voice as the man continued smiling at them.

"I suppose proper introductions are in order….That's right…It's me…Sabo." Sabo smiled although he held a degree of sadness in his eyes as the two brothers nearly fell back in shock as Luffy was silent before his eyes bulged as his mouth fell agape.

"S-sabo!" Luffy yelled as he fell back.

"You sure have grown up Luffy…." Sabo continued smiling before Luffy managed to pick himself up before he stretched his arms to Sabo and glomped him in a hug as he cried in pure happiness at the brother he's missed for ten years.

"Sabo! I thought you were dead! I missed you so much!" Luffy yelled as he cried in Sabo's chest not caring about getting snot and tears everywhere.

"Heh, still a crybaby, huh?" Sabo managed to joke as Luffy smiled through his tears before wiping his eyes and giving a sheepish smile.

"Y-yeah!" Luffy laughed.

"And from what I've seen in the papers, you've dabbled into quite the adventures over the past couple of months haven't you?" The blonde asked the brunette who continued smiling through his tears.

"Y-yeah!" Luffy continued sobbing as Sabo pet his younger brother's head.

"You've really grown up Luffy…I'm proud of you!" Sabo grinned as Luffy's tears returned full force as he continued crying in his brother's chest as Sabo rubbed his younger brother's back comfortably. This went on for several more minutes before Luffy finally calmed down.

"T-thank you….." Luffy managed to mutter as he regained his composure before looking to Ace who was deadly silent.

Luffy then took this as his time to step down as Ace deserved as much time with Sabo as he did, if not more.

Ace said nothing as he walked up to Sabo as his bangs covered his eyes.

"Sabo….." Ace muttered.

"Yeah Ac-"Was all Sabo managed to get out before he was sent flying across the edge of the room into a nearby desk, much to the shock of everyone present.

"Ace! What was that for!?" Luffy asked.

"Shut up!" Ace countered before turning his gaze over towards his other brother who had his sat up with his head down.

"You bastard….ten years…..TEN GODDAMN YEARS we thought you were dead! And suddenly you appear before us and try to act all happy and giddy!? What the hell were you doing all of this time!? Didn't you think about us!? Where the hell were you!? Damn it, I don't know whether to be happy or pissed at the sight of you!" Ace cursed with tears falling from his shut eyes as snot dribbled down his nose as Sabo gasped as he rubbed the swelling of his cheek where Ace had struck him.

"I'm sorry Ace…I'm sorry Luffy…..I really am….I really messed up didn't I!?" Sabo frowned as tears fell from his own eyes before he was suddenly embraced by the flame user.

"Just shut up already!" Ace cried as he hugged his brother who returned the embrace.

Luffy smiled at the two as he wiped the tears from his eyes before Ace motioned him inside of the hug.

"Get your rubber ass in here too!" Ace yelled as Luffy wasted no time in joining the embrace. The three brothers all wailed on each other as they all realized for the first time in ten years, they were all together again, not as young boys naïve of the world around them but capable and self-reliant young men.

From the outside of the room they were in, Jinbei, Hack and Koala all watched with happy smiles at the reunion as they were happy for the three brothers to finally be reunited with each other. They chose not to be in the room as they believed this was a private moment meant for only the three of them.

"You know Ace…" Sabo began as the brothers broke their embrace.

"Yeah?" Ace wondered as Sabo managed to grin a toothy grin.

"You really haven't changed at all!" Sabo grinned as Ace returned said grin before smacking him across the shoulder.

"I can say the same to you!" Ace grinned back. He was in a particularly good mood, he was saved from death and even reunited with his long, thought to be dead brother.

"What happened to you? I mean after all this time….why didn't you ever come back to us?" Luffy asked as Sabo sighed before he sat down on the seat behind him. Ace and Luffy sat on a couch behind them.

"To tell you the truth…you could say I was dead…" Sabo began as Ace and Luffy both raised inquisitive eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Ace asked.

"After the mess with Bluejam when I was taken back to my parents I had to leave…I refused to stay in a town with rotten air…I decided to set sail and when I had taken to sea, a bastard world noble came across me and decided to shoot me thinking I deserved to die simply because I crossed his path…." Sabo recounted the horrific events as Luffy and Ace were left with feelings full of horror and disgust.

"That bastard…." Ace growled as Luffy smacked his fist with his palm.

"I could never stand those bastards….That's why I hit a celestial dragon! When they shot one of my friends in cold blood I immediately thought back to your 'death' and how cold and ruthless they are! I don't regret doing it neither!" Luffy declared in a matter of fact voice as the two brothers looked at Luffy in shock before they couldn't help but laugh.

"Same old Luffy!" Ace laughed as he thought about how wimpy Luffy was ten years ago.

"Somethings really never change!" Sabo added as Luffy was always one for doing reckless things.

"In any case, continue." Luffy suggested as Sabo nodded.

"Right. Anyways I thought I was about to die before I was rescued by your father Luffy." Sabo explained as Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"My dad?" Luffy inquired.

"Yeah. When I woke up it turns out I was found by the Revolutionary leader Dragon with a nasty case of Amnesia…." Sabo added as both brothers gave him looks of shock.

"Amnesia?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah…..when I woke up I couldn't remember anything except for my name….I didn't even remember you two…." Sabo added with regret evident in his voice as both brothers gave him looks of sympathy as Ace looked down in shame.

"Sabo….I'm sorry….I…" Ace tried to apologize as Sabo raised a hand.

"It's fine…If it had been you I probably would've done the same." Sabo said with an amused grin as Ace returned the look.

Now while they suggested to take me home, I told them no. Anywhere was better than Goa Kingdom. Most of them were unwilling to take a small child with them while Dragon was the only one who supported my decision." Sabo elaborated as Luffy raised an eyebrow at what he was told.

"Wow…my dad….sounds like one heck of a guy…." Luffy said as Sabo smiled.

"He is. But in any case, I was trained as a Revolutionary soldier and forgot you guys entirely…..but little by little I would remember you guys from the news articles about you guys….And by the time Ace's execution was announced I remembered everything. Who I was, why I went out to sea all those years ago and most important our bond. As soon as my memory came back I immediately left before anyone could say a word. I couldn't lose a brother." Sabo finished his story as Ace and Luffy both looked at him.

"Wow…..you really went through a lot didn't you?" Ace asked as Sabo sighed.

"Yeah…and I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner….but….it all worked out in the end." Sabo began again as Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"Whaddaya mean?" Luffy asked as Sabo gave a toothy grin.

"I was able to save and reconnect with my precious brothers again!" Sabo exclaimed as both brothers gasped before they smiled.

"Yeah…it could've been worse!" Ace exclaimed.

"Yeah! One of us could've died today and you would've been left with a feeling of just 'What If?'!" Luffy grinned as Sabo raised his hand out.

"We're brothers! Now and forever!" Sabo announced as both men smiled with him.

"Forever!" Ace smiled as he put his hand where Sabo's was.

"Forev-"Luffy tried to emulate Ace's gesture before he fell to the floor in a daze much to the confusion of the two brothers.

"L-luffy!?" Ace and Sabo simultaneously in worry.

"Are you okay!?" Ace asked worriedly as his response was a snore.

Luffy snored with a snot bubble in his nose as both brothers guffawed, nearly doubling over in laughter.

"This kid I swear!" Ace laughed as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Always overexerting with himself! One thing's for sure, we can grow up and change all we want but Luffy will never change!" Sabo grinned as both brothers looked at their baby brother with proud smiles on their faces.

* * *

It had been a week since the events of the War of the Best at Marineford.

Luffy had been asleep for two whole days in response to all of the injuries he sustained from Impel Down and Marineford. Upon waking up, he was greeted by his brothers and the trio of brothers shared their own personal stories with each other; Sabo's stories of his adventures while working with the Revolutionary Army, Ace's adventures with Whitebeard and Luffy's own stories of being with his crew, the Straw Hats.

It was a very happy week for three brothers.

Although the atmosphere wasn't completely happy as Whitebeard had sacrificed his life for all of his sons, especially Ace, to escape and live their lives.

Currently the brothers were at the grave of the great pirate in the New World. Sabo paid his respect to the great pirate and gave him thanks for looking after his brother for so long while Luffy also paid his respects by taking off his straw hat and putting it to his chest. He at first found Whitebeard to be an annoyance and a roadblock in his goal of becoming pirate king but over the short time they knew each other, he grew to respect the old man.

Ace however was the most distraught as Whitebeard meant the world to him.

"Old Man…thank you….for everything…." Ace sniffled as he wiped his tears on his forearm. He was clad in his trademark orange cowboy hat with his usual black shorts and black boots.

"Hehehe! You used to get on me for crying like a baby but look at you!" Luffy joked with his usual light-hearted grin. He was clad in the clothes that he first started out his journey in, a red vest with blue jean shorts along with his trademark Straw Hat.

Ace responded to his brother with a death glare before clonking him on his skull.

"You're the crybaby! Who was the one who cried after the Porchemy incident!?" Ace glared at his brother with a shit-eating smirk.

"Hey! I was only seven! What seven year old was hit with a spiked glove!?" Luffy glared back with pure rage as Sabo laughed before he came between the two. He was still wearing the same outfit he wore a week ago.

"Alright guys that's enough." Sabo laughed as he calmed the two down.

"Honestly it's like you guys really haven't changed since we were kids." Sabo chuckled as Ace exhaled.

"Us two have. Him not so much." Ace grinned as Luffy's death glare intensified.

"Hey!" Luffy yelled as Sabo tapped his shoulder.

"Now, now." Sabo said as Luffy calmed down.

"By the way, what're you gonna do with your crew?" Ace asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah, now that I'm all healed up, I plan on going back to Sabaody so we can all reunite and meet up. We gotta continue our adventure together after all!" Luffy grinned.

"Hah, sounds just like you." Ace grinned back as Sabo suddenly decided to walk away.

"Sabo?" Ace asked as he noticed Sabo leaving as Luffy noticed soon after.

"Why don't you two follow me?" Sabo suggested.

Shrugging the two brothers followed until they came across a particular part in the forest that Sabo decided to stop at.

"So what's the deal?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. Why'd you want us to follow you?" Luffy added as Sabo smiled widely.

"In order for us to do this!" Sabo said as he pointed to a tree stump with three cups on it.

Immediately Ace and Luffy smiled in nostalgia as they remembered this gesture from ten years ago.

" _Well we'll figure it out when the time comes. Maybe we'll leave on one ship or maybe we'll leave on three." A ten year old Ace announced as he walked up to his two brothers before he put down a bottle of Sake on a tree stump._

" _Oh…you stole that from Dadan, huh?" A seven year old Luffy pondered as Ace grinned in response._

" _Lemme tell you guys a secret. All it takes to become brothers is to share some Sake." Ace began as he poured the contents of the bottle into the three cups available._

" _Whoa really!? That's so cool!" Luffy grinned as a ten year old Sabo smiled as he realized the implications of Ace's words._

" _We may sail on different seas with different crews on different ships. But wherever we go and whatever adventures we have we'll always be brothers and no one can take that away!" Ace declared as all three brothers picked up their respective cups of Sake as they readied their vows._

" _From now on, we're honest to goodness brothers! Cheers to that!" Ace finished as all three brothers clinked their cups happily._

" _BROTHERS!" Ace, Sabo and Luffy shouted for the world to here and then some. No longer were the three brothers outcasts in the world but were now brothers unified with a bond that would never be broken. No matter what!_

"Sabo…you…." Ace began as Sabo walked over with a bottle of Sake.

"Hey, that's Dadan's Sake! Just like old times!" Luffy grinned as Sabo smiled as he poured the contents of the Sake bottle into the three cups available.

"To think it was ten years ago when we declared to become unstoppable pirates in the world who would live freely to the end. And now look at us. The 2nd Division Commander of Whitebeard, the NO.2 of the Revolutionary Army and the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates." Sabo said as he finished pouring the cups of Sake.

"Heh, we've really come a long way!" Luffy grinned.

"We're no longer those naïve brats but mature men now!" Ace smiled.

"And unlike all those years ago we won't be able to stick together like we did in the past. Eventually we'll go our own ways again. But no matter where we go or what we do one thing is certain…." Sabo began as all three brothers picked up their sake cups.

"We'll always be brothers…." Sabo added as all three brothers got ready to clink their glasses together.

"No matter what, this bond will never be broken. We'll always be brothers…." Ace added.

"FOREVER!" All three brothers yelled for the heavens to hear as they clinked their glasses together.

No longer were the three brothers idealistic, naïve children but self-reliant, mature young men with their own dreams and their own ambitions.

And no matter what, the three brothers would always be intertwined with each other and nothing would ever take that way from them.

Now and forever.

* * *

And that wraps up this story! I'm sure we all can agree that **THIS** is what should've happened! Oh why Oda? Why did you have to kill off Ace!?

Although I have to wonder should I leave this as a one-shot on its own or make a sequel to this story? Decisions…decisions….XP And speaking of which if you liked this One Piece fanfiction of mine, should I make more? Especially of ASL (which is my drug XD)?

I do have to wonder since this was my first One Piece fanfiction of whether or not I kept everyone in character or not! Well you guys are the judges of that! XD

In any case, please let me know your thoughts on the story and I hope you enjoyed it! ^_^


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